ALABAMA SENTENCING COMMISSION
2004 LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE
1. Increased Fines for Felony Offenses
Fine increase by 300%
HB608 SB341
This bill amends § 13A-5-11 and § 13A-5-12 of the Code of Alabama (which has not been amended since 1977) to increase, based on the inflation index, the maximum amount of fines authorized to be assessed upon conviction for a felony or misdemeanor
offense as follows:
Current/1977 Amt. New Proposed Present Value*
Class A felony from $20,000 to $60,000 $61,046.10
Class B felony from $10,000 to $30,000 $30,523.05
Class C felony from $5,000 to $15,000 $15,264.03
Class A Misd. from $2,000 to $6,000 $6,105.61
Class B Misd. from $1,000 to $3,000 $3,052.81
Class C misdemeanor from $500 to $1,500 $1,526.40
*Based on consumer inflation index
These fine amounts are the maximum authorized (not required) to be assessed upon conviction. Pursuant to § 12-19-152 of the Code of Alabama 1975, all fines collected in state courts, with the exception of municipal ordinance violations and where otherwise designated for use by state agencies or departments, are deposited in the State General Fund.
2. Trafficking – Clean-up – Fines for serious offenders
HB533
This bill amends § 13A-12-231, Alabama’s Drug Trafficking statute, to authorize assessment of mandatory fines upon conviction of the highest level drug trafficking offense (those in which the largest drug amounts are involved), to be consistent with the other provisions of the statute and corrects the fine for possessing more than 4000, but not more than 10,000 pills of hydromorhphone to increase the fine from $100,000 to $250,000.
3. Bondsman’s Process Fee for Community Corrections
HB711 SB342
This bill, as introduced, amends § 15-13-125, Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize the assessment of a $20 fee for the issuance of bondsman’s process and to provide for distribution of $15 of this fee collected in district and circuit courts to the State-County Community Corrections Partnership Fund created by Act 2003-353 and $5 of the fee distributed to the Clerks Fund. Bondsman’s process fees collected in municipal courts are to be distributed to the Corrections Fund of the municipality and earmarked for the funding of community corrections and work release programs. Under existing law, bondsman’s process must be issued by the court clerk upon the request of any bondsman and there are no fees assessed upon application for, or issuance of, the process. By assessing a fee, this bill will not only raise revenue, but should also reduce the number of requests, and hopefully decrease
some of the clerk’s workload.
This bill also provides for the distribution of the $50 penalty that is now authorized to be assessed for tardy returns of bondsman’s process. Although current law authorizes assessment of this penalty, no fund is established for distribution of this fee when collected in district or circuit court. Under the provisions of this bill, fees collected in district and circuit courts are authorized to be distributed to the clerk’s fund created by
§ 12-17-225.4 or, for counties that do not have a Clerk’s fund established, the Clerk’s Administrative Fund established by this bill. The $50 penalty collected in municipal courts is to be deposited into the municipal general fund, which is now authorized under existing law.
4. Supplemental Appropriations for Community Corrections
HB607 SB338
The Alabama Sentencing Commission strongly encouraged that this bill be a priority in the legislative package presented this year because funding is essential for state-wide expansion of community corrections programs and is a fundamental part of the Commission’s sentencing reform efforts. Funding in the amount of $5.5 million was a major part of the Commission’s recommendation in 2003 for full implementation of the Community Punishment and Corrections Act (2003-353), and is required before the Department of Corrections (DOC) establishes a Community Corrections Division and appoints a full-time Director. An appropriation of $2.9 million was included as a line item in DOC’s budget for Community Corrections and the $2.6 million requested in this bill will provide DOC with the $5.5 million originally requested.
5. Amendment of § 15-22-30 – Increase in P & P Residential Facility Fees
HB531
This bill increases the amount the Board of Pardons and Paroles can deduct from the wages of residents of their community residential facilities from 25% to 45%, with the additional 20% designated for the payment of court costs, fines, fees, assessments and Victim restitution. This is consistent with the amount now authorized to be deducted in
§ 15-18-180, as amended by Act 2003-353, for defendants assigned to a work release or other residential program operated by a community corrections provider. Of the person’s earnings, 25% of the gross wages are to be applied to costs incident to the person’s supervision and upkeep, 10% to court costs, fines, court-ordered fees and assessments, and 10% to restitution. After the full 45% is deducted for these expenses, the remainder of the wages is to be credited to an account established for the person by the Board and may be paid out for dependent care, savings and spending money.
6. Parole Reform Act
HB539
This bill amends § 15-23-36 to provide that the notice of hearings shall:
1) be sent to victims named in the indictment (or, if the victim is deceased, the victim’s immediate family) by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the last address contained in the Board’s files;
2) contain the actual time the prisoner has been held in confinement as computed by the Department of Corrections;
3) contain The date of “sentence” rather than the date of “conviction”; and
4) be provided to the Chief of Police of the city or town only if the crime was committed in an incorporated area with a police department.
7. Medical and Geriatric Release
HB603 SB339
This bill provides for discretionary medical and geriatric release by the Board of Pardons and Paroles of “terminally ill,” “permanently incapacitated,” and “geriatric inmates,”* who do not constitute a danger to themselves or society and establishes procedures for submitting applications for consideration of eligibility and time frames for the Board and the Department of Corrections. The authority to grant medical or geriatric release is within the Board’s discretion and not subject to judicial review in either the exercise of authority or the manner in which it is exercised. In determining an inmate’s eligibility for release the Board is to consider the inmate’s 1) risk for violence; 2) criminal history; 3)institutional behavior, 4) age (currently and at the time of the offense); 5) the severity of the illness, disease or infirmities; 6) all available medical and mental health records; and release plans, which include alternatives to caring for terminally ill, permanently ill, or geriatric inmates in traditional prison settings.
Inmates convicted of capital murder or sentenced to life without parole are not eligible for release under the provisions of this bill.
*A geriatric inmate is defined as an inmate convicted of a non-capital felony offense sentenced to the penitentiary (for less than life without parole, is 65 years of age or older, and “who suffers from a chronic infirmity, illness, or disease related to aging and poses a low risk to the community (does not constitute a danger to himself or society).”
BILLS TABLED UNTIL NEXT MEETING OF COMMISSION Scheduled for Friday, February 20, 2004
1. Amendment of Split Sentence – Hollis Case
The Alabama Sentencing Commission reviewed the opinion of Hollis v. State, 845 So. 2d 5, and agreed that amendment was necessary to clarify the continuing jurisdiction of the trial court over defendants who have completed their incarceration term and are now serving the probation part of the split sentence; to ensure that the judge has options on revocation other than simply revoking and incarcerating the parolee for the remainder of the sentence. Also, based on dicta (?) in another appellate case that brought into question the authority to impose a reverse split sentence (probation before incarceration), the bill will ensure that a reverse split is authorized.
2. Habitual Felony Offender Act
The result of research conducted by intern Mark Dowdy was provided to Commission members at their meeting of January 9, 2004, summarizing 3-strike and repeat offender statutes in all 50 states and U.S. territories. It was noted that Alabama is unlike the vast majority of states, inasmuch as there is no limitation according to type or, degree of the offense or decaying provision (time limits for consideration of the prior convictions). Most states that have repeat offender statutes limit its application to convictions for certain violent and sex offenses. Alabama does not even weigh the classification (A, B, or C) of priors convictions except to make an exception for imposition of the most severe penalties for defendants convicted of a Class A felony after having been convicted of three prior felony offenses (in which case those with no prior Class A felony conviction may be sentenced to life without parole. Because the members requested more time to review the material and compare Alabama’s statute with the other states, this bill was tabled until the Commission’s next meeting.
Two proposals were presented:
- Applicable to Violent Repeat Felony Offenders Only
One proposal was to amend the Habitual Felony Offender Act prospectively to apply
only to repeat “violent” offenders, applying the definition of “violent offender” as it is
now appears in § 12-25-32, [the Sentencing Reform Act, 2003-354, codified § 12-25-
30 et seq., Code of Alabama 1975 (2003 Cum. Supp.)]
- Weighing Priors by Classifications
Another proposal was to amend the Habitual Felony Offender Law to weigh the priors, according to classification (A, B, or C) for felons with one and two priors. Because the Legislature recently amended the HFOA for felons with three prior felonies (only considering the classification of priors for those who are subsequently convicted of a Class A felony) and because these type offenders should be sentenced more harshly, the committee suggested that the provisions for defendants with three prior felony convictions not be further amended. Amendment of felons with one or two prior felony convictions with the sentences varying depending on the classification of the prior offense(s) was proposed.
Data was requested on the effect of implementing these provisions and more research conducted on states with decaying provisions, i.e., limiting the consideration of priors to those that occurred within a certain period of time.
3. Pretrial Diversion Programs Authorized Statewide
Items Noted that Needed to be addressed:
Authorizing DA’s to establish in any county (now requires local act)
Establishing General Standards
Encourage to utilize community corrections service
Reporting requirements for all established programs
Provision for Indigent Defendants
This bill was tabled until the Commission’s next meeting. Because the District Attorney’s Association and Office of Prosecution Services are working on a draft bill for Senator Holley, the Commission members delayed action on this bill. Consideration of a separate bill by the Commission at this time was viewed as premature. Commission staff has provided a copy of our draft bill to Randy Hillman, Director of the Office of Prosecution Services, and will meet with him and discuss the provisions we would like to see included in any bill that is introduced.
4. Marihuana Possession
After several suggestions for amendment by the district attorneys present, the bill was tabled until the next meeting of the Sentencing Commission.
This bill proposed amendment of §13A-12-213, “Unlawful possession of marihuana in the first degree,” to provide that a person would be guilty of this offense and convicted as a felon only after possessing marihuana for personal use after having three previous convictions of unlawful possession of marihuana in the second degree.” It was noted that according to the Commission’s cohort, 328 inmate per year were sentenced for possession of marijuana and of these, perhaps 1/3 were repeat offenders.
1